Soulmates and Sound
by luvtheheaven
Summary: What if your world was silent, unless you happened to be in the same vicinity as that special person who you love more than anyone on earth? This fic explores Laurel's, Barry's, and Oliver's perspectives in a soulbond AU story, where most people develop two soulmates (platonic or romantic) at some point in their lives - soulmates who allow them to hear the sounds of the world.
1. The Sad Silence of the Storm

_**Soulmates and Sound**_

 _ **Summary:**_ _What if your world was silent, unless you happened to be in the same vicinity as that one special person who you love more than anyone on earth?_

 _This fic explores first Laurel's, then Barry's, and finally Oliver's perspectives in a soulbond AU story, where most people develop two soulmates at some point in their lives – soulmates who may be either platonic or romantic, and who allow them to hear all of the sounds of the world around them._

 _Written by_ _ **luvtheheaven**_ _with a lot of inspiration and brainstorming help from_ _ **litra**_ _, who also brought this world to life in audio form. Please listen to the podfic she made of the fic!_

 _We collaborated on this project for "Pod-Together", a challenge to write a fic with the purpose of it being podficced. So we came up with this cool sound-based idea, and I'd really appreciate it if you would listen to it._ _ **litra made an awesome podfic**_ _including music and sound effects, where appropriate and it really brings so much to the story. I had fun writing it, and the text is below, though, if you'd prefer to just read it._

 _Click on my username and the podfic stuff is linked from the top of my profile on this site. Or do a Google search for "Soulmates Sound Arrow Podfic" and the first thing that comes up should be the podfic on AO3. ;) It is also uploaded to the audiofic archive so if that comes up as well that is the same thing._

 _But yeah, the third link on my FF net profile here SHOULD be other people's podfics (audiobook-type things) of my fics._

* * *

Chapter 1: The Sad Silence of the Storm

Laurel didn't remember the day her parents took her little sister home from the hospital. She'd been told some stories about what her reaction had been to meeting her – to seeing the tiny little baby that Quentin had carried inside, a blanket wrapped around her. Laurel knew there had been a few years when Laurel was on the earth but Sara didn't yet exist. But despite knowing that, Laurel didn't actually remember a time when her sister had not been around. Laurel felt like she had always been a big sister. _Always._

Laurel did vaguely remember Sara being a baby, though. In fact, there was one particular memory that stood out for Laurel – the moment when she'd first learned of the existence of sound.

When Laurel was three years old, she had seen the flashing lights for the first time on the baby monitor. The curious toddler had then asked her mother how it knew when Sara was crying. How could it tell, even when no one was looking at the little baby's distressed face? Could the monitor see things the way people could?

Laurel had observed, even in her limited life experience given her young age of three, that people only heard a baby cry when they were looking directly at it. The process was quite similar to, for example, having a conversation with her mother. People had to be looking at each other's faces if they wanted to hear what was being said. And crying was basically a baby's form of talking.

Dinah answered her daughter by explaining that the monitor picked up sound waves, which human ears couldn't usually hear but which the technology could still detect. Prior to that day, Laurel had assumed sound was related to sight. But her mommy was a very smart lady and despite the fact that Laurel had still been too young to _fully_ understand how light and sound were different, this had been the start of Laurel comprehending it. Dinah had assured her little girl that she'd learn more about the science behind all of it when she got older. She'd also gotten pretty emotional, judging from the way her eyes had begun to shine with tears, as she'd added, "And I hope one day you really hear what sound is like. It is the happiest experience in the world."

Dinah had then pulled the daughter she'd named after herself into a fierce hug, and Laurel had breathed in her mother's scent, a bit confused, but appreciative of the love.

* * *

Dinah Lance had spent many years studying Greek and medieval history, and had been offered a job at Central City University, but decided to postpone accepting the position for a few years in favor of staying at home to raise her girls while they were young. Consequently, the Lance family had lived on only a police officer's salary during all of Laurel's elementary school years. The limited income had meant they could only afford a fairly small house on the outskirts of Starling City, with Sara and Laurel needing to share one of the only two bedrooms in the house.

Laurel was eight years old when, in their shared double bed one night, Sara had turned to Laurel and poked her shoulder. Laurel had been fast asleep but stirred at the touch and, with some subsequent prodding, emerged from her slumber and turned to face the five-year-old so that they could successfully talk. The nightlight in the corner illuminated the room enough so that Laurel could see Sara and therefore hear her say, "Did you see the lightning?"

Laurel shook her head.

"Sorry, I didn't," Laurel replied. "I was asleep."

"What if it hits that tree in our back yard?" Sara then asked, and Laurel could tell from her facial expression that she was terrified, just like she always was whenever there was a storm. Sara seemed to have it in her head that their tree would get knocked down and fall straight onto the house, which, if it did happen, could potentially kill their parents. Their parents' room was right below that tree. Laurel loved that her little sister was so concerned not for herself, but for Mom and Dad. Her heart swelled with pride for how compassionate Sara was, and she smiled.

"It's gonna be okay. The lightning's never hit that tree before, remember?" she said, hoping it was reassuring.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sara replied, understandingly. But her voice! It sounded so different! So… high-pitched, and so exactly like Sara. Laurel had never heard her sister's unique voice before. She blinked a few times, trying to figure out what had just happened. Her shock must have shown on her face, because the five-year-old then asked, "What's wrong, Laurel?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong," Laurel replied, trying to be reassuring, despite the fact that as she said it, she then realized she could now hear the sound of her own voice too! It was quite jarring to hear. She looked around as she began to notice some other, more constant, noise too. Something… all around her. Or maybe more… around the house. Laurel hadn't yet learned to recognize it, but what she was hearing was the rain.

Sara shivered in fear as their room was illuminated quite brightly by another strike of lightning, this time one Laurel was awake to see. And then, only five seconds later, when the light had faded, there was a very loud and scary sound that made Laurel freeze in terror.

"You're definitely upset about something," Sara replied defiantly, and knowingly. "Maybe you should get Mom and Dad," she suggested.

Swallowing and biting her lower lip, Laurel nodded. Maybe she should. She had no clue what was happening to her. She pulled off the covers and could've sworn she heard something very quietly with the motion, but then tried to shake it off as likely just her imagination. She stepped on the floor and couldn't pretend that _that_ wasn't making noise. She started walking and heard her bare feet softly swooshing as she slid them across the floor toward her parents' bedroom. She really hoped she wasn't losing her mind. She hoped her parents would be able to explain to her what was happening.

As soon as Laurel exited her bedroom the pitter-patter sound that seemed to be coming from everywhere stopped. Was it something only happening in her bedroom? She twirled on her feet and went back in through the still open door. Yes, the sound was back. And then she left again. And again, it was gone. Laurel tried to convince herself that despite how unnerving this was, it probably wasn't anything to worry about. Her mom or dad would have the answer. They had to!

She walked into their bedroom and woke her dad up the same way Sara had awoken Laurel – by poking his shoulder. Quentin rubbed his eyes sleepily and then noticed the dark shadow of his daughter standing there, needing him. He pushed himself into a more upright position, and adjusted himself to be sitting with his back against the head of the bed. He flicked on a lamp on the bedside table.

"Sweetheart, what'd'ya need?" he asked sympathetically. His hair was more of a mess than it was during the daytime, but his fatherly demeanor was just as strong as it would be if the sun was out.

"Um…" Laurel began timidly. She looked over at her mother, who still resting peacefully despite the storm. "I… I think I've been _hearing_ things."

Laurel began to fidget. Her right fingers grasped at her nightgown's left sleeve and she bit her lip. Despite how upset she was, she managed to keep her gaze on her father. She was hopeful he'd say something that would somehow make it all better.

Quentin's eyes went wide. "Really? When?"

"When I was with Sara just now. In our bedroom. Sara was scared." She paused and looked out the window for a moment before continuing, trying to figure out how to explain. It was harder to tell him than she thought it'd be. "Scared of the lightning. So I tried to make her feel… less scared. I told her nothing bad was gonna happen. She said I was prob'ly right and… and when she said it…" Laurel faltered.

"Yes, sweetie?" Quentin was encouraging her to continue.

"When she said it, I heard… her voice, dad. It was… different than what she usually sounds like. And then I heard this other loud sound all around us."

Laurel stopped speaking when she saw her dad smile widely. For some reason, her dad's reaction to this news was positive. He turned to wake up his wife, gently stroking her hair. Once she opened her eyes, he said something, but because he was turned toward her mom, Laurel couldn't hear what he said. Dinah then began to smile really widely too. What was going on? How could her parents be acting this way? Was it _possible_ that her mom and dad were _happy_ about this news?

Once the adults both were looking back at her, Laurel continued her story. "It was really scary! The lightning flashed and then it… _something_ was… loud," she tried to explain, not feeling like the really was capturing the essence of it. Her story-telling skills weren't really at their finest when it was late at night.

Just then, there was another flash of light, and Laurel looked toward the windows, where she could see the tree that Sara had been referring to. Laurel knew nothing was making noise in this room, but maybe this would be the exception! The super-loud sound had been so different than the other sounds, before. So Laurel was terrified the sound would come again.

She waited a good twenty seconds. "It didn't happen this time," she told her parents. "Well, I mean, I'm not hearing anything in here... But I know I heard something before! Or… um… it was a _bunch_ of stuff making sounds. I'm not making this up." She looked down toward the ground.

Dinah pulled off the covers and walked over to her daughter, then lifted up her face so that they had eye contact again. "We believe you, honey. From what you're telling us, we think what just happened is that Sara officially became your soulmate."

"What?" Laurel asked.

Quentin got out of bed too so that he could see both of their faces and be a part of the conversation.

Dinah continued. "It means that whenever you're around Sara, from now on you will hear people's voices, and the sounds of the world."

"So what were those sounds I was hearing?" Laurel was desperate to know.

"Lightning actually has a sound, that comes a few seconds later," Quentin explained knowingly. "It's called thunder, and that's what the scary, loud, noise was."

Laurel had so many questions. How did they know all of this? What had that other constant noise that felt like it surrounded the whole room been? How many things in the world made sound? But the thing she decided to ask was:

"But why haven't I heard the sounds before? Why is Sara only my soulmate now?"

Dinah and Quentin exchanged a meaningful glance, and then Dinah sat back down on the edge of the bed, gesturing for Laurel to join her.

"No one really knows how or why the soulmate thing works. Most people have two soulmates in their lifetimes. Typically one who is platonic, like a family member or dear best friend, and one who is romantic. Sometimes, though, people don't get two, or both of their soulmates are of the same type."

"Not everyone gets two?" Laurel asked.

"Yes, there have been reports of some people having three or even four soulmates, and sometimes, usually when people die too young, they never meet their second – or God forbid, even their first – soulmate".

Quentin nodded, agreeing with everything his wife had just said.

"But that doesn't explain-"

"-why Sara wasn't your soulmate before, but she is now?" Dinah finished the sentence for her.

Quentin chimed in. "Legend says that if you were aware a person was going to be your soulmate before you two actually got to know one another, and got to love one another, then that knowledge would ruin the whole thing, sweetheart."

It sounded like her mom and dad had always known they were going to have this conversation with her eventually. Even if it was the middle of the night, they didn't seem to mind waking up for something this… _important_.

Her dad continued, "So the ability to hear when in their presence typically only starts later, and it varies for every relationship. Most people say it happens after you start to feel sure that you couldn't love the person any more than you already do. That's when the world explodes with beautiful sounds, like birds chirping, music, or you know, the rain."

Laurel was confused by a lot of things. What was music? Did birds really make sound? How could sounds be beautiful? That was a word used to describe paintings and visual things. Everything in her world was shifting. Her parents both leaned in at the same time to kiss the top of her head.

"Wait," Laurel said to both of them. "You always say you couldn't love me and Sara any more than you do. Does that mean we're your soulmates too?"

Dinah smiled warmly. "Well, no one really understands it, but children aren't usually their parents' soulmates. If they end up being soulmates, from what I've heard it only happens once they grow up, and are more of equals with them. Once their children are adults. But we do love you girls more than life itself, I promise you that," Dinah assured her.

"Oh, okay," Laurel said, satisfied enough for now.

"So do you think you can go back to sleep now, despite your new ability to hear the rain, and the thunder?" Quentin asked.

"I'll try," Laurel said, hoping there wouldn't be any more of that dreadful thunder. She saw how thrilled her parents were to learn that Sara was her soulmate. She trusted them completely. If they thought this was a wonderful thing, then it must be true. She returned to her bedroom, preparing herself for all of the sounds to hit her once more. But as the rain returned, it still took her breath away all over again. This would take time to get used to. The rain was so different than silence. As she carefully returned to the bed and positioned the covers over herself, not wanting to disturb her little sister who had long since fallen back asleep, she realized even Sara's breathing made a sound. She had never heard that before. It was kind of amazing. Even with her eyes closed, and even if they weren't actually touching, Laurel could tell for sure that Sara was right there, right beside her.

* * *

By the time Sara was finishing up her freshman year at Starling City High School, she still had no firsthand experience hearing sound waves the way her sister did whenever they were together. Their parents had been correct when they'd imparted the wisdom that soul bonds were one of life's biggest mysteries.

Laurel wished she and Sara could've been each other's soulmates. That's how soulmates seemed to work for so many people in the world, but not for everyone, and for whatever reason, Laurel's bond with Sara was, even after all this time, one-sided. Sara loved her sister dearly, but it was somehow a different sort of love. Laurel was so protective of her younger sister, but that instinct was not reciprocated. Laurel knew Sara well. She knew Sara sometimes wished she could live her older sister's life. But Laurel had never felt that kind of jealousy. So maybe it did make sense for the soul bond to be what it was.

Laurel had figured out not too long after the night of the storm that her parents weren't even soulmates – or at least 'not yet', they had clarified once she'd confronted them about it. They'd told her that they'd always hoped with time, the soulmate bond between them as a married couple would appear. And if it didn't, it didn't matter, they said. Laurel didn't believe that was quite true. The closer she got to adulthood, the more she realized that everyone hopes the person they fell in love with would turn out to be their soulmate. But Quentin and Dinah assured their eldest daughter that they would never regret marrying each other. They had many happy years together, regardless of what might be to come, and they'd created two perfect children in the process.

Laurel appreciated her parents' example, and was a bit comforted by the idea that even if she never found a romantic soul mate, she could still get married one day, and be happy. She had developed the _hugest_ crush on Oliver Queen. She'd known him for a whole decade already, but the change from just thinking of him as a friend to thinking of him as potentially something _else_ to her had been quite recent. She couldn't just hang out with him anymore, or even hear someone else talk about him. No, every time Ollie crossed Laurel's mind, she kept fantasizing about kissing him. Every time she saw him? She could barely breathe while seeing his tight-fitting shirts and dirty blond hair that fell carelessly into his eyes. Laurel's fantasies also included the hope that he would become her romantic soulmate eventually – she couldn't help but dream of that possibility.

As soon as Laurel announced her plans to attend Tommy Merlyn's party to celebrate the end of Senior Year, her little sister said she really wanted to come. Most of her friends would never dream of dragging along a freshman, but Laurel knew it'd be fun to bring her. If she did, then Laurel would be able to hear everything at the party, as long as Sara was still in the same room. Laurel would even be able to appreciate the sound of Ollie's laugh! That alone would be _worth it._ Laurel had only gotten the privilege on a couple of occasions, as Sara and Oliver usually were not around her at the same time, but _God, it was sexy_. Besides, it would be really obvious to Laurel if Sara started to wander off anywhere during the party, because Laurel's world would go silent again.

"Okay, I guess you can come," Laurel finally told Sara. Laurel could at least use her special bond with Sara to her advantage. It wasn't that much of a hardship to bring her, was it? Of course, she worried that this might turn out a horrible idea. Ollie might _see_ that Laurel had brought her! Laurel knew what kind of girl Oliver Queen was into – the kind who was carefree and completely focused on him, not someone burdened by making sure their little sister was okay.

The fifteen-year-old Sara beamed at being allowed to attend, and her happiness was infectious. Laurel could never regret letting Sara come. Not after that reaction. Laurel couldn't feel anything except _joy_ whenever Sara smiled like that.

Tommy and his dad didn't live in anything as crazy or castle-like as the Queen mansion, but it was clearly an expensive and fancy home. Fashionably late, Laurel walked up its steps with Sara beside her, and as soon as Sara pulled the door open, she heard the crowd of teenagers who had arrived prior to the sisters. They were milling around, all of those conversations that were private for people who didn't bring their soulmates being heard in bits and pieces by Laurel. She heard a girl in the corner asking Tommy if they could put on some music, and Laurel wondered who that person's soulmate at the party was. Sometimes Laurel was surprised by how much music people were able to produce, despite the fact that in order to create professionally produced tracks, every step along the way people had to be with a soulmate, and all of the people who didn't have soulmates would never help contribute to that industry's profits. As it had turned out, though, the most famous singers tended to have soulmates as a musical or business partner anyway, and in the end, Laurel realized most people did seem to have at least one soulmate.

As the music started up, Laurel appreciated the sound of people eating chips, crunching on them and reaching into bags that rustled. She appreciated the general murmur of everyone's voices. She appreciated not just Ollie's laugh, but being able to overhear what he was saying to Tommy even when his back was to her, and being able to hear what Tommy's voice really sounded like caught her off guard, too. It was kind of amazing. She understood now what her dad had meant by sounds being beautiful. Sara's voice was really pretty, and she was so grateful she always heard it whenever Sara spoke. But Tommy? His voice was surprisingly beautiful too. And Ollie? Yeah, his voice was sexy; it wasn't just his laugh. She smiled.

When the party suddenly fell silent, her heart froze. Where was Sara? She anxiously looked around the main room where most of the party was taking place. She noticed that adjacent to this room, there was another room. People were wandering in and out. Judging by the red plastic cups in their hands, and the brighter light emanating from it, Laurel guessed that the other room was a kitchen. She walked toward it and then turned the corner, finding Sara cozying up with one of Laurel's classmates.

"She's too young for you," she scolded him, and the guy – a senior! – looked affronted.

"Dude, what's your problem?"

" _Dude,_ " she mocked him. "She's my little sister." She gave him a fierce stare, and then broke them apart, even though they hadn't even been touching yet. She could tell what her sister had been doing, and she could not allow that kind of flirting.

"Come on," Sara begged. "I didn't want you to hear what I was saying, so I went around the corner. Don't I deserve some privacy?"

Laurel started to drag Sara back out into the main room. "I'm sorry, but I don't think so. He's eighteen! It's actually illegal for him to be with you at your current age."

Sara glared back at Laurel, and then protested, "Not if we only kiss…"

"No," Laurel insisted. "You know how quickly kissing can lead to… more."

"I've already been with a senior guy before," Sara muttered under her breath.

Laurel took a deep breath, trying not to be too upset. This was a party. She couldn't let Sara ruin it for her. Now wasn't the time for a fight.

All of a sudden, Laurel heard a loud shattering. "What was that?" she asked worriedly. It had sounded like something had just broken. Only a few other people at the party seemed to also have noticed that anything had made noise. She tried to gauge where it had come from. As she walked in the general direction from where her ears had picked it up, Sara followed.

"Ah be careful!" Laurel said, but Sara didn't hear her because Laurel wasn't facing her. Laurel was busy staring at the broken glass shards on the floor. Someone drunk had accidentally knocked a fancy vase off of a shelf. Sara kept walking, obliviously, and Laurel reached out with her arms and physically stopped Sara from walking over it.

Sara only took a few seconds to realize what Laurel had saved her from. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Laurel replied.

* * *

Laurel and Sara got older. Laurel went off to college, leaving Starling to go a fairly prestigious school four hours away, and then Sara graduated from high school too. When growing up, Sara had constantly been a huge part of Laurel's life. Even so, Laurel had always been used to some periods of no sound, and transitioning to hearing the sounds of the world a bit less often wasn't so bad. She'd felt ready to move away from home and go to college, and ready to later move in with Ollie. She knew she'd see – and hear – Sara less, but the sisters would always be in each other's lives. Of course they would. Sara was her soulmate. Sara was, if Laurel had to pick only one person, the person Laurel cared about most in the entire world. It was undeniable that the universe had been right to pick Sara to be Laurel's soulmate. She even loved Sara more than Oliver. Oliver was great, and he had no soulmates, he told her, but he did say he loved her more than anyone else, and Laurel hoped she could build a life with him. But even as she went off to build that life, Sara would remain that one person Laurel would want to talk to about all of it. That one person she'd drop everything for, and all Sara had to do was ask.

It had nothing to do with how special it was to hear sound every time they met up again. Running into each other's arms allowed Laurel's world to once again come alive. No, Laurel loved everything about who her sister was as a person. Sara had grown up so much since that day when she'd been scared of the thunderstorm. She had turned into someone who was practically fearless – a wild and adventurous soul that Laurel admired. She was someone who loved life.

Laurel never would have dreamed that Sara might betray her by sleeping with her boyfriend. By choosing to go away on a yacht with him! This hadn't only been one night. Sara had always loved life, and Laurel knew she loved sex too, but her own sister's boyfriend? What could she have been thinking!? How could the universe have decided Sara was Laurel's soulmate, if this had been in their destiny all along?

This. And, of course… her death.

Laurel had always expected, every time they hugged goodbye and parted ways, that she'd see Sara again soon enough. The world got quiet each time, but knowing Sara was out there… it had never felt silent the way it did now. Now, all Laurel could think was that Sara was gone, and the silence was suffocating. It was such a painful kind of grief, losing your only soulmate. The only person who you'd ever known who could magically make your world have sound.

A couple of months after the news of what had happened to the Queen's Gambit reached Starling City, Laurel found herself hoping she _never_ found another soulmate. _Ever._ She was just learning to survive again after both Ollie and Sara had died. She was just starting to sleep through the night, at least some of the time, without awful dreams about what they might have been doing, together, on that boat. Without the even worse nightmares about how Sara might have sounded as she gasped for breath in the ocean. Everyone on the Gambit had died a horrific death during a storm. She'd been told there had been winds so violent they'd capsized the boat.

Sara had first become her soulmate during a storm. By age nine, Laurel had grown fond of thunderstorms. The rain, the thunder, and even some wind had been the first of nature's sounds that Laurel had _ever_ gotten to hear, in her entire life. But now, Laurel was bitter. She now hated thunderstorms more than she ever imagined would be possible. It had been a thunderstorm that, in the end, took her soulmate away.

Laurel was just beginning to heal, in whatever small way she could, focusing on getting into law school and trying her best to not focus on her grief. Hearing things again would hurt too much. It was better when the only time she heard sound was in her own faded memories of Sara, alive. And oh, how that girl had lived life to the fullest. Laurel would never forget the vibrant happiness her voice so often carried.

At Oliver's funeral, Tommy told Laurel that when that ship sunk, he'd lost a soulmate too. When asked why he hadn't mentioned it at any point when Ollie was still alive, he explained that he'd been a bit afraid Laurel might've thought it'd mean he was gay. But apparently, all along, since around the same time Laurel had started hearing sound, Tommy also had the good fortune to experience life with a one-sided platonic soulmate.

Laurel's empathetic heart broke even more when she realized Tommy had to experience the same thing she was going through. If she was being honest with herself? The only thing that made her new, permanent silence feel a little less lonely was knowing that she wasn't the only one having the cope with it.


	2. I Can Hear The Bells

Chapter 2: I Can Hear The Bells

Fourteen-year-old Barry Allen sat on the couch beside Iris West. They were currently enjoying the sounds of classical jazz music on an old phonograph.

She was the same age, and they were each other's soulmates. Back in elementary school, when they'd just been neighbors, they had already been the very best of friends. That friendship had only strengthened three years ago when Barry had needed to start living in the same house as her.

Both kids had known all about soulmates for as long as they could remember because of their parents. Both Barry's and Iris' parents had been lucky enough to be bonded in that way that all married couples wish they could be.

Barry's dad had liked to repeatedly explain how it worked. He'd always said, "Son, when you know someone the way you know the back of your own hand? _That's_ when the universe'll decide it's time you know their voice too. That is the point at which spendin' time with 'em will make _everything_ echo."

So Barry wasn't even surprised when, two weeks after moving in, the universe had confirmed just how deep his connection with Iris was. Because Iris really did know Barry as well as the back of her own hand. Iris knew everything about him. She knew not just _what_ had happened on the worst night of his life – the truth, and not the lies published in all those newspapers – but she also knew how he _felt_ about all of it too. She'd even seen him cry.

And Barry? Well, _he_ knew more about Iris than he knew about anyone. He moved into the same house as her, and before long, he'd seen all five pairs of pajamas that she owned. He knew that her favorite type of sandwich was 'grilled cheese', followed closely by 'peanut butter and banana'. He was aware of how badly she wished their family might someday get a pet – preferably a cat, but she'd love a dog too.

So yeah, Barry hadn't been surprised. It had simply made sense that the two of them would be other's platonic soulmates.

Losing his whole world at the young age of eleven was something no child should ever have to go through. Barry had needed something to soften the blow, at least in a small way. It had been the most awful thing to hear his mom's screams. For a while, Barry struggled with PTSD flashbacks to those streaks of red and yellow and his terrified mother behind them, moments before when she'd been murdered.

And then his dad – a man who would never in a million years want to hurt his own soulmate – had been put on trial and later convicted of purposely killing her. That was a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, no matter how hard he tried. Even three years later, that truth _crushed_ him.

But despite all of those clouds being dark and gloomy, getting Iris as a soulmate had definitely been a silver lining. The universe had given him a gift. It had been the first good thing to happen after all of the bad. He was able to share in the new experience of hearing with Iris. Both of them reveled in the beauty of sound together, and continued to do so. And for that, Barry was very grateful.

But the thing was, Barry thought of Iris as so much _more_ than just a best friend. He'd had a crush on her even before his mom had died. Once they'd started to live together, Barry became completely smitten with her. He was sure he was in love. He felt butterflies when he looked at her. He felt tempted to lean over and kiss her whenever he was sitting on the couch beside her, as he was right now. He knew it'd be inappropriate to ever act on his feelings, now that she was his foster sister, but there was a part of him that secretly hoped one day, maybe, the type of soulmates they were would turn out to be 'romantic'. That maybe, all along, the universe had actually been saying they were meant to date, and even get married and live happily ever after. A young teenage boy could hope, couldn't he? _God, he felt like such a girl sometimes._

"Your dad had pretty good taste in music," Barry said fondly. He was trying to steer his thoughts into a better direction. He knew Joe hadn't been able to listen to any music in a very long time. Joe had lost the ability to hear sound at the same time he'd lost his wife. But Barry loved his foster father so much that when Barry found himself appreciating the music, his mind instantly jumped to assuming that amazing man must've been the one to purchase this delightful record.

"I think this was one of my _mom_ 's favorites, actually," Iris commented slowly, correcting him.

Barry knew how it felt to lose _both_ of his parents. He knew Iris missed her mom. Barry had experience with how easily people could forget he had a dad who was still suffering, trapped in prison. Or how easily people made false assumptions about the guy, such as thinking he was a murderer. Now that Barry was fourteen, he had begun to meet some new people who had no idea that Barry's beloved biological father had been a doctor. They neglected to appreciate that Barry's love for studying science had started with Henry's influence. It _hurt_ every time Barry had to bring up of those facts. It hurt to know that the vast majority of new people who entered his life would never even get a chance to meet either of his parents.

Even if it was just accidental, Barry hated that he had just done to Iris what so many people did to him. Barry would've had no way of _knowing_ that this wonderful record had belonged to that woman – a woman he'd never met – but he still felt really bad about forgetting it was a possibility. _Of course_ Iris's mom had lived in this house, and _of course_ she would've been a partner in putting all of the now dusty records on that bookshelf.

"I'm so sorry," he said softly, hoping Iris would forgive him. "I didn't-"

"It's okay," Iris interrupted.

Barry never ceased to be amazed by how she was always so understanding. He smiled appreciatively, and then, since he was sincerely curious, asked, "If you don't mind telling me… I was just wondering, how do you know this one belonged to her?"

Iris stared intently at the album's cover, but he could tell she wasn't really looking at it. Her mind was elsewhere. She took a few moments before answering.

"Because my dad told me that _this_ -" –she looked up and pointed – "was my mom's side of the bookshelf. They each had their own favorites. And then the middle was for the albums they both liked."

"Oh," Barry replied. "Cool." He still felt guilty about inadvertently reminding Iris of her mom. He knew that usually made her a bit sad. Right now, Iris probably wished her mom was here, joining them in listening to all of the impressively improvised saxophone solos, and the syncopated drum beats.

Iris turned toward Barry and shot him a smile. He could tell she wanted to lighten the mood.

"I'm just glad my parents' old record player still works!" she said brightly.

Barry grinned back at her. "Yeah."

Not many kids their age cared about music, since most people only really had four fundamental senses, not this special fifth one. If they did, the vast majority of them only had CDs, as even cassette tapes were outdated at this point. But when you lived in a house with both your soulmate and a collection of vinyl records, it was extremely nice to discover a turntable that was still in working condition. Especially if it only took a small amount of rummaging in your foster family's basement.

The music wasn't playing very loudly, so when a key began to jangle in the lock, they could hear it. Then, the door creaked open.

"Kids, I'm home!" Joe bellowed cheerfully, knowing even if they weren't looking at him, they could hear him. Iris got up from where she was sitting, walked to the record player, and then carefully began to lift the stylus. Barry approached the front door, needing to face Joe in order to properly greet him.

"Hi," Barry said, once they were in view of each other. He noticed the bag of groceries in his hands. "What's for dinner?" he asked, excitedly.

"I'm going to attempt to make you kids my grandmother's old recipe for salmon patties," Joe answered. "I just bought all of the ingredients, plus some other things we were out of. Come on, help me put this stuff away."

Barry grabbed one of the bags and proceeded to carry it over toward the fridge. Unlike Joe, he could actually hear the hum the refrigerator made, and hear the sound of the bag rustling as he pulled the new carton of orange juice out of it. So much of the time, Barry could hear everything that happened to produce sound. Barry shared most of his classes at school with Iris, and they spent so much time together at home too. He was so used to hearing those sounds of the world that he almost took them for granted. But he didn't. Because Barry knew how lucky he was. How few people got to experience such a rich experience of sound around them. And how easily something could happen to make it all go away, just like it had for Joe. So Barry tried his best to cherish the fact that Iris was his soulmate, and cherish all that it entailed.

* * *

A decade passed by, and Barry and Iris got used to spending a bit less time around each other, going to separate colleges, living in separate places as adults, working in separate jobs…. but they still hung out almost every day. They still were each other's best friends. And Barry was _still_ hoping that maybe one day, their soul bond would turn out to be romantic, not platonic.

Barry was struck by lightning. He did survive, but was in a coma for an entire nine months. When he eventually awoke, he had been heartbroken to learn that Iris had started dating Joe's partner, Eddie.

But it had broken his heart more to realize that because he was her soulmate, the only times she'd hear anything for almost a whole year had been when she'd come to visit him. She'd heard the beeping of the monitors in the hospital and later, when his condition had seemed to worsen, the audio from the machines hooked up to him in S.T.A.R. labs. He could only imagine how painful it'd be to hear the doctors, in their own voices, encouraging her to give up hope that he'd ever wake up. She would've been able to hear their voices, but not Barry's. She would've been able to still hear her own voice! But only when she was in the presence of a Barry who wasn't even aware she was there. Discovering that all of that had gone on while he was unconscious was what _truly_ broke Barry's heart.

Eddie? He could learn to live with that. So what if Iris was dating him? _Iris_ had been forced to live with something so much more difficult.

Thankfully, Barry was out of his coma now, and Iris didn't have to endure it any longer. But the thing was, after the particle accelerator had exploded, he had also developed an ability. And quite a number of scary people in his city had also developed some similar… talents. Him now possessing incredible speed was _awesome_. The criminals running around seemingly breaking the laws of physics as they hurt innocent people? Significantly less awesome. And possibly the least awesome thing of all? Not being able to share any of this with Iris, especially since his _entire life_ was starting to revolve around meta-human abilities.

These secrets were beginning to strain his relationship with Iris, regardless of their soul bond. It was even happening tonight.

He was sitting in Jitters across from Iris. She was employed there, and was still wearing her apron. She was merely taking a break with her friend, and had just brought over two full mugs of delicious coffee.

"Barry, did you read my latest blog post about The Streak? Just this morning there was a sighting outside of-"

Barry cut her off. "Actually, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that. I don't think this is the most... _professional_ way for you to spend your time. Don't you want to be hired by a reputable newspaper, not the Metropolis Inquisitor?"

Iris scowled at him, clearly hurt by the insinuation that it was _silly_ to invest her time researching The Streak.

"Come on, Barry," she pressed. "This stuff matters. This Streak, he… he's a hero. And he clearly can do something no human should be able to do. This might be the key to solving your mother's murder, after all of this time!"

Barry sighed. "Do you really have to call him… The Streak? I hate that."

Barry started to hear a siren in the distance.

"Well what would you call him?" Iris asked, easily ignoring the sound, which was far enough away that it clearly was nothing for her to get too concerned over.

But Barry needed to check out what was happening. There might be something he could do to help if someone was in trouble.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just got a text," he lied, pulling out his phone.

Iris waited patiently for him to pretend to read it. "Yeah I gotta go. I'm sorry," he said, not even looking at Iris as he got up and turned away from her, walking briskly. It was difficult to resist the urge to actually run at supersonic speeds until he was out of Iris' sight. He hated doing this to Iris – leaving without a real explanation, without their conversation being finished. He knew how rude it must seem. But he'd promised Joe he wouldn't put her in any more danger by telling her the truth. He'd also promised Joe he'd try to talk her out of her recent blogging endeavors. So he was trying to keep his word. He quickly changed into his aerodynamic disguise.

Barry had lost all ability to hear the siren as soon as he was out of Iris' vicinity, so he ran toward the general area of where he knew it had been, scanning with his eyes for the red and blue lights. He spotted the cop car within milliseconds.

As he slowed down, he looked directly at the female officer who was pointing her gun at a man wearing a black ski mask, wielding a bloody knife.

"Drop your weapon," she demanded of him, and Barry only heard her because he was staring at her. He followed her gaze to see if the man would, indeed, drop his weapon. As he turned his head, Barry noticed another man grasping his side, his face contorted in pain.

Barry sped over to the man with the knife and grabbed it and threw it into some bushes, removed the man's mask, and then picked up the man in need of medical assistance. He stopped speeding long enough to look at the officer and give her a terse nod. He didn't wait to see if she responded before carrying the man to the hospital.

He rushed toward the automatic doors of the emergency room – 'rushed' being quite the understatement – but was forced to slow all the way down when he got there. He needed the automatic doors to open, and that took time, plus he also had to stop being 'The Streak' long enough in order to announce to the workers there that this man required medical attention.

It was then that Barry noticed Eddie and Joe down the hall, just exiting the elevator and heading his way.

As the bleeding man was taken out of Barry's arms, Eddie said to his partner, "It's almost like this guy is… teleporting. It must be a team of robbers, right?"

Barry was still in his red costume, and Joe had spotted him, but Eddie wasn't facing his way.

"Um…" Joe replied, faltering, both because he didn't know how to cover up the stuff out of a sci-fi movie that was actually happening in their city, and also because his foster son's presence was very distracting. "Yeah, probably a team," he finally said, feigning equal confusion over everything.

Barry sped away before Eddie could notice him, heading toward S.T.A.R. labs and hoping Cisco or Caitlin would still be there.

Cisco and Caitlin actually heard him enter, because they were working late, and because they were together. Barry had been given a brief explanation of how her fiancé – Ronnie – had been her soulmate before his death. But remarkably soon after that particle accelerator explosion, Cisco became another soulmate for her – she's _sure_ one of the platonic variety, because she just doesn't see him 'that way'. Whether that would prove true in the long run was something no one could know yet. Just like Barry, hoped Iris might be his romantic soulmate one day, he suspected Cisco was hoping for the same thing.

"Barry?" Cisco asked, wondering why he was rushing in, still in uniform.

"Have you heard anything about robberies happening in various places, far away from each other throughout the city? Possibly being committed by a… teleporter?"

Caitlin, on the other side of the room, scowled. "Oh no."

* * *

Months passed with Barry still keeping Iris in the dark, him working with Cisco, Caitlin, Dr. Wells, Joe, and sometimes Eddie too to try to keep the city as safe as they could.

Barry had been extremely careful to avoid Iris whenever he was in The Flash uniform. She got hired at Central City Picture News _because_ of her blog, and was still very interested in not just the phenomenon of this "superhero", but she had caught on to some of the things that seemed to be straight out of a sci-fi novel that were happening on the streets. She didn't call him The Streak anymore, mainly at Barry's urging, but she longed to meet the guy, having no idea that she was _the one person_ who The Flash would never meet. He didn't want her to hear things when in The Flash's presence and figure out that he and Barry were one and the same. He didn't want to betray Joe.

Barry was in his lab at the moment, sharing some take-out Chinese food with Joe at the desk. It had – thankfully – been a slow night for both the police and also, subsequently, forensic work. Joe was paying for this dinner not just as a fatherly thing to do, but also as a 'thank you' for Barry saving his life the night before. Barry had literally prevented Joe from getting shot, and although Joe had been wearing his vest, Barry had seen that the bullet's trajectory was heading straight toward his foster father's _head_. Barry had tried to insist that saving him wasn't really a big deal – he was just glad to have been in the right place at the right time to be able to. But Joe wasn't accepting that. Hence the moo shu pork they were enjoying together.

Joe swallowed a bite, and then put down his chopsticks.

"Are you done already?" Barry asked. He was a bit surprised, since Joe hadn't eaten very much.

"No," Joe replied. "I just… I have to admit something to you, Barry," he said slowly.

Barry tensed up, nervous at what Joe could possibly need to confess.

"A few weeks ago… I got another soulmate."

Barry's eyes went wide. "Wow, really?" he exclaimed. "That's amazing. I didn't even know you had time to _meet_ anybody."

Barry certainly hadn't had much of a dating life ever since awaking from his coma to a world ravaged by meta-humans. Not that he had interest in anyone other than Iris. Still, Iris was _taken_ , and maybe if he was less busy, he would make an effort to see if he could fall for someone else.

"No…" Joe corrected. "I haven't met anyone knew. It's… you," he said. Barry could tell from his eyes that he felt guilty about it for some reason.

Barry wasn't sure how to react. He blinked a few times.

"I know you already have a father, and I never wanted to take his place, you know that, Barry," Joe began to explain, the words spilling out. He broke eye contact with Barry, but Barry remained intently focused on him, not wanting to miss a word.

"And obviously we're not each other's soulmates, and that's okay," Joe added. "I just… I love you like… well, like more than just a son. You're so special to me. And I guess the universe decided it was time I was able to hear some things again."

"Wow," Barry replied softly. "I don't know what to say." He realized he was beginning to tear up. It was beyond touching to learn just how much Joe loved him. "Thank you for telling me." He wondered how hard it had been for Joe to hold onto this for weeks.

Neither of them brought up the awkward fact that his own biological daughter was apparently not quite as important in his life. Barry wondered how Joe would ever break the news to her. He hoped she'd be as amazingly understanding as she usually was, and not take it personally. He wondered if it'd be better for her if he, her soulmate, was there when she learned of this particular truth.

"So when you stopped that bullet… I know you didn't, but _I_ actually heard the gunshot," Joe explained softly. "I try not to let myself feel fear when on the job, but…" he trailed off, and Barry understood the part he'd left unspoken. That must've been terrifying for him.

"I'm guessing you're bringing this up now so that I know to be more careful about slurping my food?" Barry joked, knowing from experience eating with Iris that the activity could make a surprising amount of noise if you weren't paying attention.

Joe laughed. "Yeah, that was the only reason."

Barry smiled, glad they shared a similar enough sense of humor. He also kept smiling as he realized _now_ , if he, Joe, and Iris ate together, they all would be able to hear each other.

Soulmates were such a weird phenomenon. You couldn't control them. If you could, Barry was sure he'd choose to have Joe be his soulmate too in a reciprocal fashion. Except… if he really was limited to only two in his life… maybe he wouldn't want to use it on Joe. He loved his dad just as much. And what if Iris was always destined to just be his platonic soulmate? What if he had new soulmate, one of the _romantic_ variety, destined for his future?

His heart went out to Caitlin, who had recently learned that Ronnie was actually still alive, but was merged with Professor Martin Stein. Somehow that had meant he was no longer her soulmate. She could only hear him if around Cisco too, still. Barry had never dreamed that someone could be your soulmate and then later, not be your soulmate anymore. He'd never heard of that happening, and maybe it was just the unprecedented merging of two people into one body that caused it, but it was still really awful to think about. It's devastating when your soulmate dies. But when they're still alive, you just have lost that amazing connection to them? That must _suck_ on an entirely different level.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, one of Central City's most prominent philanthropists was to be giving a speech.

Iris waved goodbye to Barry and placed her official 'Press' badge around her neck. She wasn't overly excited about this particular event, but Barry knew she was a skilled reporter and could make anything sound exciting once she put her fingers to a keyboard.

They parted ways, Barry wanting to be on alert for any 911 call that might come in, anyway. There were always more at night. He returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, hoping maybe they'd be lucky and no one would need his help tonight. Caitlin smiled and pulled out a deck of cards.

"What do you want to play?" Barry asked. "Go Fish?"

"What are we, a bunch of five-year-olds?" Cisco asked, turning a corner.

"Well, what would you want to play?" Barry asked, sincerely curious. They had already agreed no poker – really, no gambling of any kind while at the Labs.

He never did get to find out what casual game they might get to play, because just then, emergency dispatch came through on the radio channel.

"A very suspicious fire has broken out at the Swan Hotel," the voice said.

Barry's heart stopped. That was where Iris had been heading!

"Just one row of chairs seems to be lit." Barry hoped it wasn't Iris' row. He didn't have time to hear more. He sped over there.

Unfortunately, even getting there as soon as he could, all of the journalists had already sustained burns. There had been several 911 calls from various non-journalists in attendance, but none of those calls had been able to be placed fast enough. The blur of red first swooped in to save his gorgeous soulmate from the fire. He could only save people one at a time, much to his frustration. By the time he had gotten the final person in the press row out, it had been a good 30 seconds since he'd arrived at the hotel – a good 30 seconds of being in the same room as Iris, and being able to hear for the first time in his life the horrifying sizzle flames make when burning through chairs and fragile human skin. He knew she was hearing it too. He hated that she was hearing that awful sound even more than he hated how likely it was that Iris would know be able to put two-and-two together and deduce that he and The Flash were one and the same.

He let the ambulances come and treat these people's wounds as he sped toward the police station, hoping maybe Joe would forgive him if Iris figured it out, and for not getting there in time to prevent Iris from getting some minor burns.

It was Eddie who did some great detective work and figured out that a person named Gary Avery, who had been in attendance, had a vendetta against one of the reporters, and decided to set just that row of chairs on fire. What confused the arson investigators was that they could find no traces of the fuel. Barry and Joe knew this Gary Avery guy must be a meta-human, and they locked him up beneath S.T.A.R. Labs, wanting to protect the public in the only way they currently knew how.

Iris was still in the hospital, and as soon as Eddie was done visiting for the night, Barry approached her room.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He saw some bandages on her hands and wondered where else she had sustained burns. She probably had some under her hospital gown.

"I am," she assured him. "I… I'm actually kind of great."

Barry was confused. A night in the hospital where you can't even properly use your hands because you need to let them heal was not a typical person's idea of being "great".

Seeing his confusion, Iris elaborated. "You see, I think I just figured out something tonight. The Flash is my soulmate."

Barry's expression fell. She knew. Of course she knew. But then she continued.

"I can't believe it! All this time investigating The Flash from a distance and all along he's been my second soulmate. I _need_ to meet him. Whoever he is!"

Barry couldn't believe it. She still had no idea.


	3. The Soulmate Advantage

Chapter 3: The Soulmate Advantage

Oliver was a lucky guy. Born into the ultimate 'good life'. An only child till just about the time when he was a teenager. Spoiled with whatever he wanted.

A young Ollie never understood the concept of not having enough. He had absolutely no frame of reference for what that'd be like.

And material possessions weren't the only things he'd been blessed with either. He was showered in plenty of love because he had kind, caring, responsible parents. They'd possessed the money to have _potentially_ let an exceptionally qualified nanny be the person to raise him, but they didn't. Instead, both his mother and his father had fully desired to be involved in every step of his growing up.

He'd truly had a _great_ dad in Robert Queen. The man was a wonderful role model, and a young Ollie found himself hoping one day he might be just like him.

Meanwhile, Tommy Merlyn, one of his two closest friends, had lost his mother in a senseless murder. And he _didn't_ have the type of father Oliver did, despite how much Tommy may have wished he did. Even though Oliver was a fairly self-absorbed child, he had noticed that the man, following the death of his wife, barely even seemed to notice that his son existed. It was beyond obvious that Malcolm Merlyn was… _lacking_ as a dad.

So, without thinking about it, Oliver began to frequently invite Tommy to come over.

In addition, Oliver asked Tommy to join him and his dad when they went out to fancy restaurants – usually on those nights his mom was busy dining with her own friends, so it'd be just the three of them. It was also 'the two boys plus Robert' when 'the men' decided to head out to the golf course, or to the lake.

Sometimes, if they were going on bigger and better vacations, such as to luxury beachside resorts, Moira came too. Oliver loved his parents, but it was a no-brainer to let his best friend join him for all of it. Having Tommy there made everything more fun. It wasn't just a kindness he was granting to his friend. Bringing him along was also a selfish pleasure.

Ollie would've brought Laurel Lance, his _other_ closest friend, on all of these adventures as well – if her parents had granted her permission more often. But she and her family did things together a lot of the time. And she was required to be a part of those. He didn't mind. He still saw her plenty often.

Oliver had, on a couple of occasions, seen where she lived. He'd played board games in her family's living room. He'd played video games with her, Tommy, and sometimes Sara, in their basement. The house was modestly sized.

On the other hand, the Queen home was a luxurious mansion. Oliver's family was known as the wealthiest around, so of course they also happened to live in what seemed to be the equivalent of a castle. Growing up, he'd felt like a prince. He'd been granted a special birthright – fame – simply for having Moira and Robert Queen as parents. He may not have deservedall of it. As he got older, tabloid magazines liked to paint the Queen son as entitled and oblivious. But that publicized portrait wasn't accurate. On the contrary, Oliver knew that he didn't deserve _any_ of it. If he stopped to really think about it, he almost felt guilty sometimes. But it didn't matter if he deserved it, or if he was aware of how many unfair advantages he'd been granted in his life.

Oliver was a very lucky guy.

When he was twelve-years-old, however, there was a new addition to the Queen family. His parents certainly never expected him to care about the baby in the house. They knew what boys his age were into, and it certainly wasn't babysitting. But _they_ paid a lot of attention to Thea. Too much attention, in Oliver's opinion. They didn't even care much when, within the next couple of years, he got into sex at a bittoo young an age. Not long after, he started experimenting with illicit drugs.

Oliver may have _started_ participating in these activities in an attempt to become the center of attention again. Before long, though, he stopped caring that his parents were distracted. He stopped caring because he was having fun. He was having the time of his life, truly.

His fame helped him get whichever girls he wanted.

His wealth helped him try out whatever highs he wanted.

His parents had, intentionally or not, given him these opportunities. He was merely taking advantage of them. Who could blame him?

Almost a decade later, he hadn't grown out of these habits. In fact, he was _excited_ to be able to take advantage of his family's amazing yacht and all of the champagne and other delights one could enjoy on it. He wanted to keep living in the mansion with his parents, and not move in with his girlfriend. By this point, Laurel was someone he cared for deeply, but the idea of living with her didn't sound very fun. Having sex with her was fun, and _maybe_ they'd have _more_ sex once they lived together, but the pro vs. con list in his head about moving in with her… well, it kind of terrified him. 'More sex' was the only pro. The cons seemed to clearly outweigh it. Oliver worried he'd have too many new responsibilities. He worried too many of the joys in his life would be stripped away from him.

So instead of behaving like a mature human being, he decided on a whim to invite Laurel's little sister on the trip. He knew Sara wanted him. He'd seen the way she'd looked at him. And besides, _every_ girl wanted to sleep with Oliver Queen. So of course she did too. He and Sara would undoubtedly have fun together. He'd wait to worry about his life-of-fun ending until _after_ he got back home. But first, somewhere near China, out on the vast ocean? He could _literally_ escape from the things that frightened him.

If Oliver had known that going out on The Gambit would mean witnessing his father shoot himself in the head? Of course Oliver never would have gone. If he knew it would mean five years on a hellish island?

That it would mean his twelve-year-old sister would be tortured by the loss of both her father _and_ her brother?

That it would mean Laurel and Tommy both thinking their _soulmates_ were dead?

Oliver had always figured he just wasn't meant to have a soulmate. He'd been granted so many other advantages in his life. The universe probably knew better than to let him experience the happiness of "hearing", too. And if he'd had any hopes that he was wrong about the universe's plans for him… all of his hopes disappeared once he arrived on Lian Yu. He felt sure he would die without ever experiencing sound. He soon felt sure that the universe was playing some sort of cruel joke on him. Even deaf as Oliver was, on some of those bleak nights, he could've sworn he heard laughter – cruel and cold, off in the distance.

* * *

In an ironic turn of events, the first sound Oliver ever heard in his entire life was laughter – actual laughter, not from some abstract notion of a universe that was sadistic, but rather from someone who had become a true friend to him over the course of only a few months.

Oliver Queen was The Starling City Vigilante. If _ever_ there was a person who didn't need a bodyguard, it was Oliver, who had learned to become an insanely skilled fighter – and killer – in the time he'd been on Lian Yu.

And yet… the universe maybe really did have a sense of humor. Because this bodyguard – John Diggle – was now his soulmate. The person he needed more than anyone. Someone he could trust with his secrets. Someone to have his back both in his civilian life _and_ on the streets.

"You brought her a laptop with bullet holes in it?" he repeated incredulously, still laughing as he spoke. "But claimed you spilled coffee on it?"

Oliver blushed. "I was kind of desperate."

"I'll say!"

"Well we kind of need her on our team, don't you think?" Oliver countered, trying to defend himself. He was enjoying the conversation too much. He didn't want to pause and reflect upon this new thing he was experiencing – the sound of his own voice, and Dig's!

"Yeah, the system update is pretty cool," Diggle admitted.

They both were hoping Felicity would work out as the newest member of their little team. Diggle had already talked to Oliver the night before about how dangerous it was, bringing Felicity into this. But Oliver hadn't had much of a choice, needing someone to help save his life after his mother shot him. And now, she was "in the know". Now, there was no going back. She was with them, for better or worse.

One of the fancy new computers on the desk behind Diggle began blinking and beeping in an alerting fashion. Diggle turned around.

"Wait, Dig?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah?" Diggle replied, turning back.

"Did you… _hear_ that?"

Oliver wasn't sure why else Diggle would've turned his head in that exact direction. He couldn't have noticed the blinking. It was directly behind Diggle.

"Oh," Diggle replied, it now being his turn to blush. "Yeah, well you know, I never thought after losing my brother I'd find another person who felt like a brother to me, but…"

Oliver was touched. "You're mine too," he replied. It wasn't necessary to verbalize the word. They both understood. They were clearly each other's platonic soulmates. And wow. In the long run, that would probably really come to Team Arrow's advantage, wouldn't it? Being able to hear what was happening around them as long as they were together?

Oliver fell asleep that evening, alone in his bed, feeling a lot lighter than he had in weeks. He couldn't hear anything at that moment, but he'd be able to hear again the next time he saw Diggle, which would be soon. They saw each other every day.

A few weeks ago, Tommy and Laurel had announced to him that they were in a relationship – and not just a friends-with-benefits kind of thing. He'd already learned that they'd done that when he'd been presumed dead. But no, now they were in an actual romantic relationship. This was serious. This was real.

But that hadn't been their only announcement that day.

Tommy said that Oliver had been his soulmate since even before the Gambit sank, and that he still felt that close to his best friend, and still heard the sounds of the world when in Oliver's presence.

As if that wasn't going to be more than enough of a shock to Oliver… Tommy also mentioned casually, in practically the same breath, that he and Laurel surprisingly enough had developed a soulmate bond with each other.

The universe had apparently deemed the perfect timing for Tommy & Laurel's soulmate bond to be revealed was only about a week after Oliver had returned to Starling City and reunited with both of them.

At the time, Tommy did reveal his suspicions as to why now to Oliver. "It's probably because she needs it more than ever now. I got you back. But…"

Oliver had understood, and finished his sentence for him. "But Laurel didn't get Sara back," he'd sadly said with a nod.

* * *

A year or so later, Oliver and Diggle were both in The Lair, so they heard Felicity coming the moment the door creaked open and high heels began to tap on the steps. They both turned to look at her and even after a year, she wasn't used to it.

She scoffed. "You know, no one really has scientifically proven that it's better to spend time with a soulmate." Her defensive outburst made Diggle chuckle, and Sara, who was also down there with them on that particular evening, was confused.

"Wait, what did she say that was so funny?"

Oliver looked between the girls sympathetically. He understood why Felicity was a little frustrated that the men essentially possessed a superpower and she didn't. Felicity was so amazing though. He was _sure_ she'd experience a soulmate one day. There was no way a girl as intelligent, and gorgeous, and amusing, and strong could go through her entire life without a soulmate.

Diggle, facing Sara, explained what led to his chuckling.

Oliver was distracted by the amazing, form-fitting blue dress Felicity was wearing. Sara was showing off her stomach mere feet away, but it wasn't doing nearly as much for him. Felicity finished her descent down the stairs and Oliver turned back toward his current girlfriend and his soulmate.

"Yeah," Sara was saying to Felicity, "Nyssa turned out to be a soulmate for me. I needed that for a time, but now… I don't care if being around her means I can hear. I think… I think I'd rather be here, away from the League."

Oliver could tell that Felicity desperately wanted to give Sara a warm, comforting hug. But Felicity also was good at reading people and also could clearly tell that Sara would hate that. So instead, Felicity respected who Sara was and just shot her an understanding smile.

"Laurel probably could use some more time with me, though," Sara began to say, a bit wistfully. Oliver knew she had a point. Laurel had been a wreck ever since Tommy's death. "But she says she doesn't w-"

Sara was cut off by the computer's beeping alert system. All four people turned to look, because lights were also flashing for Felicity's and Sara's benefit as well. What was happening?

They all saw the text on the screen at once. The police were dealing with four robbers, at least two of which were carrying guns, at a family home!

"What could warrant four armed robbers breaking into a house with children inside?" Felicity muttered, not remembering that the guys would hear her.

Oliver grabbed Dig's ski mask and tossed it in his direction. "You're gonna need to hide your face for this one," he said. Diggle was already making sure his pistol was loaded and ready for the task. Sara was slipping into her black costume and preparing to grab her batons. Oliver headed toward his own green suit. Everything was happening quickly.

Before leaving Felicity, he reminded her, "We can relay a message to Sara if there's anything you wish you could say to her over the radio. And we know _you_ can't hear _us_ , but we're setting up the cameras and we'll do our best to keep you in the loop."

"I _know_ ," Felicity replied strongly. Oliver reminded her of these things _every single time_ the rest of them went out on a mission. She wasn't about to forget. But Oliver couldn't help himself. He hated abandoning her to silence while he fought off the bad guys. _He_ knew how, every single time, she worried about them.

Team Arrow began to approach the house, which already had a police vehicle in front of it. Oliver heard the sirens even before he saw the flashing lights.

He, Sara, and Diggle came up with a plan to try to protect the family, hoping they weren't too late. He knew there was only so much a cop and his partner could do, and Starling City's police department had been stretched thin at nights ever since the earthquake and the mass escape from Iron Heights, so who knew if backup was even coming for them?

Oliver shot an arrow through a window on the side of the house, shattering it. Sara, who by that point was perched on the roof, acrobatically jumped inside. Someone on the inside fired off a gunshot. Diggle and Oliver exchanged a worried glance, despite the fact that they knew Sara was skilled at taking care of herself. They had hoped things wouldn't be escalating quite so quickly. And they certainly hoped that bullet hadn't hit anyone.

Oliver noticed that both of the cops were still outside, and at the sound of the gunshot, one of them had hurriedly retreated and was now frantically texting back to the station from inside the car. A meager two cops were clearly not enough for the current situation – the poor men were utterly unprepared. Team Arrow had to take over.

Oliver could tell when the news that a bullet had been fired must've gotten back to the police scanner, since, predictably, Felicity urgently admonished the guys to "Be careful!" over her radio.

Diggle and Oliver followed Sara's path inside. They would've split up to look for all of the people in the house, but then they wouldn't be able to hear anything anymore. They needed to stay in the same room as each other at all times. They also knew there was a chance, with four criminals, that maybe soulmates were a part of _their_ team too, and so they tried their best to step _softly_. It was made a bit easier by sections of the house being carpeted.

Before long, Diggle and Oliver heard Sara's voice in an upstairs bedroom.

"Drop that weapon," she said forcefully.

Something clattered on a hardwood floor.

"Only one of the robbers is in that room, but the whole family is in there, tied up," Felicity explained, knowing because of the camera she'd set up on Sara's suit. "Sara's got it under control. They seemed to be being threatened, likely for information. But I don't see anyone suffering from a gunshot wound."

As she said it, Oliver heard someone approaching from behind him. He swiveled and, seeing a gun pointed at him, immediately shot an arrow to knock it out of his hand. Diggle drew his own gun as a precaution.

In a room beside them, two voices began to be heard.

"It's probably in the safe," a man was saying.

"Well it's certainly not in the desk!" a second man replied, before a large thud, likely the desk being overturned, echoed throughout the house.

"Okay, so shoot the lock! Come on, the pigs are already here!"

"You got this, man?" Oliver asked. There was no need to use his voice modulator when there was only one other person in the room – when there was no chance that the criminal had a soulmate in the vicinity.

Diggle had already put away his own pistol and successfully kicked the robber's gun out of said criminal's reach.

"I got this," he replied confidently.

The robber ran toward Dig with his fist and with a loud grunt tried to punch him, but Dig ducked out of the way in time, so the man was punching air. Then Dig grabbed the man's arm and began to retrain him.

"Agh!" he croaked out, and then he wiggled out of Diggle's grip, but Oliver trusted that Dig really did have that one guy handled. So Oliver proceeded to the room with the desk and the safe. Behind him he heard someone kicking someone, and the sound of a cracking arm as the bone broke, and Dig beginning to say, mockingly:

"It'd be less painful if you stopped strugg-"

But everything fell silent as soon as Oliver exited that room and entered the house's den. It was clearly an office that belonged to someone very tech savvy. There were multiple computers and cracked monitors now strewn over the floor. There were software and hardware books both lining the bookshelf along the east wall. And the final two robbers were both standing on the other side of the overturned desk, a gun aimed at the safe on the west side of the room.

Oliver shot an arrow that again successfully knocked the gun out of a man's hand. That got his attention, and once the man was facing 'The Arrow', Oliver asked, "What is so valuable that you'd be willing to terrorize a family and end up with you and three of your friends all facing many years of prison time?"

"You wouldn't understand," he replied.

Oliver knew Felicity probably had figured it out by now. He pulled out some more arrows and managed to trap both men in front of him along the wall beside the still secure safe, violent criminals now gift-wrapped for the police and stripped of all threats.

At that, he began to hear footsteps and turned around to see Dig.

"We ready to tell the cops to come in?"

"Ready," Oliver agreed. "And is Sara…?"

Just then, she entered the room too.

"Glad you boys were able to handle the other three. The parents and two little boys are a bit traumatized, but they'll be okay," she informed them.

They exited the house in confident strides, knowing the two cops outside would be grateful for their help rather than arresting them for their vigilantism.

* * *

By the time another year had passed, so much had changed for so many people. Oliver's sister knew the truth about her biological father. The loss of their mother had hurt bitterly.

But Thea had seemed to be doing okay. She even knew his secret now, and it had brought the siblings closer together rather than driven them apart. Desperately, Oliver wished away the little problem that it had been Thea, drugged and manipulated by the nefarious Malcolm Merlyn, who had killed Sara. _God, if only Nyssa and the League of Assassins weren't out for blood._

"What was the favor you wanted to ask me?"

"I don't think now is the right time," Dig replied.

"We're not dead yet. Now might be the only time," Oliver commented.

"I always assumed if I ever got married again that Andy would be by my side."

Oliver realized what was coming and felt a rush of happiness, despite their ridiculous situation. Diggle kept talking.

"So pretending… for a moment… that we aren't two dead men chained to the floor, how you feel about being my best man?"

Oliver smiled. "I feel pretty good about it."

Diggle and Lyla were raising a precious little girl now, and Dig had proposed marriage to that mother of his child – for the second time. Oliver knew that despite the couple having been married once before, it was only after the birth of their daughter that they finally became each other's soulmates, and Oliver couldn't be more thrilled for them.

"Hey, did you ever get around to telling Laurel-"

"Yeah," Diggle replied before Oliver had even finished his statement. "I told her. I think she… has some hope again, now."

What they were talking about was the fact that Diggle was one of those lucky souls in life to have three people whom he was bonded to. His brother, than Oliver, and now Lyla. After Laurel had lost Sara twice, and Tommy too, she had seemed sure she'd never have another soulmate again, because she'd never met anyone who had three. She even had told Oliver, sounding so forlorn, that she was pretty sure Sara had died only having one. But Dig… Dig could provide her with evidence that it was possible to find herself with a third one. She could find happiness again, another person who meant _that much_ to her. She _could_.

* * *

"You _said_ you'd train me," Felicity said, frustrated at not being challenged enough. She'd set up wonderfully upbeat folk music which was now playing in the new Arrowcave. She and Oliver had happily become each other's soulmates, somewhere along the way. It made being down there always an auditory experience for the core team of three. The only challenge was being able to properly prepare for times out 'in the field' when they wouldn't be able to hear. So blasting some music during training sessions often helped to make it harder to hear footsteps from behind or the sound of an arrow swooshing. It helped simulate those kinds of silent environments in a much more enjoyable way than simply wearing earplugs would.

"I _am_ training you," Oliver replied with a chuckle. "You're just getting… really good at this," he told her honestly. He was sincerely impressed with how much she'd improved over just a short time of training. She'd wanted to learn to fight, now that even Laurel was insanely skilled, and just in case someone broke into this new location for their secret hideout. Things had changed so much for the team. Oliver was the _Green_ Arrow now. There was a _White_ Canary in addition to the Black one sometimes stopping by for visits. And like Diggle's daughter, who was now able to walk far distances without even stumbling, Felicity was picking up the skills for both self-defense and even also some offensive strategies as if she'd _always_ been a natural.

Felicity blushed at the compliment Oliver had just paid her. "Thanks." She turned toward Dig, who was doing his own work-out a couple feet away. "But John," she insisted. "Come on. Two against one. Really test me!"

Diggle got up and smiled. "Okay. Just remember… you asked for it."

Diggle and Oliver turned to look at each other, and then gave a silent signal as to which group attack they should try first.

There was something so easy about being in-sync with one another when you had the soulmate advantage.


End file.
